U.S. envoy to Syria to be back soon
By: Mackenzie Weinger October 26, 2011 05:07 PM EST

The U.S. ambassador to Syria, pulled from Damascus over the weekend over concerns for his personal safety, will likely return before Thanksgiving, according to reports.

The State Department said on Wednesday it expects Robert Ford, who left Syria in the wake of threats, will be back before the end of November.

“Let me just say he has bought his Thanksgiving turkey for his embassy staff, and he wants very much to have Thanksgiving dinner for his folks there,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said, according to Agence France-Presse. “So that’s our expectation, it will be sometime before Thanksgiving.”

On Monday, State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in a statement that Ford was brought back to Washington “as a result of credible threats against his personal safety in Syria.”

It was uncertain then when Ford would go back, Toner said, adding that “it will depend on our assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground. We hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford.”

In response to the U.S.’s decision, Syria announced on Monday it would recall its envoy from Washington.

On Wednesday, Nuland told reporters that when Ford does return, the U.S. expects the Syrian government “to do a better job of meeting their Vienna Convention obligations to keep him safe and to keep all of our personnel safe.”